Agriculture

Wilson B. Bell

Wilson B. Bell (biology 1934; M.S. 1935; Ph.D. 1952) co-developed a new vaccine to protect calves against bovine leptospirosis, which had cost livestock raisers throughout the country thousands of dollars daily.

Thomas K. Wolfe

Thomas K. Wolfe (general agriculture 1914; M.S. 1914) wrote 32 volumes and 200 articles dealing with such topics as soils, fertilizers, and plant breeding. He developed several new strands of wheat and potatoes that yielded more production per acre. He co-authored with another alumnus the textbook Production of Field Crops, which was used in 80 percent of agricultural and mechanical colleges in the United States and Europe.

Arthur Rosenfeld

Arthur Rosenfeld (horticulture 1904; M.S. 1905) acquired an international reputation as an authority on the production of sugar cane and revolutionized methods of raising it. Graduating at the age of 17, he held the record for being Virginia Tech’s youngest graduate for many years.

John R. Eoff Jr.

John R. Eoff Jr. (applied chemistry 1904) contributed more to the then-modern knowledge of winemaking than anyone since Louis Pasteur.

Charles N. McBryde

Charles N. McBryde (M.S. 1892), son of VAMC President John McLaren McBryde and the first student to receive a graduate degree at Virginia Tech, was one of the discoverers of a serum for the prevention of hog cholera that saved untold millions of dollars. It was prepared and sold by numerous large commercial firms and was used all over the world.